How to draw 3-LOOPS-6

Today’s delicate ribbon or border tangle, 3-loops-6 is another one from CZT Mina Hsiao, and it’s also a very simple continuous line tangle.

Mina says 3-loops-6 developed when she was drawing the Zentangle®-original Eke tangle.

This tangle’s name conveniently tells you how to draw it!

3-loops-6 starts with three graduated loops ending at the same point, then the number 6 originates from that point. It’s easy as pie to draw and Mina shows several ways to embellish it with auras and tear-drop shapes for a very pretty lacy effect. I added just a touch of graphite shading to my example, and my 6’s are a little on the curly side just for fun.

A note on shading. Sometimes when I’m using my tortillion, the graphite-loaded tip blends graphite into a white area where I did not plan for it to go. I’ve fallen in love with this great little tool from Tombow. It’s called a Tombow Mono Eraser, and it’s built like a mechanical pencil so you can retract or extend the tiny eraser at the tip. The eraser gets into the smallest of spaces, which is usually what we’re dealing with in Zentangle®.

In all other cases there’s no eraser in Zentangle, but to tidy up a little shading “overflow” in tight spaces the Mono Eraser is just the ticket for me.

Here’s a closeup.

And here it is with the rest of my Zentangle tools. BTW, I do have a much smaller tortillion that I use too but I prefer the comfortable size and the blunt tip of the large one, so that’s why the Mono Eraser comes in so handy.

Tools of the Zentangle Trade – the Tombow Mono Eraser is shown here at the top. Note the masking tape on the end of my Micron. I mark the tape with the date I begin using each one so I can easily locate my “freshest” 01. Another tip (originally from CZT Suzanne McNeill, if memory serves me correctly) is to use colored tape to distinguish between different sizes of pens.

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Here Mina’s Zentangle tile features 3-loops-6 used as a border or frame around the Zentangle-original tangle ‘Nzeppel.

As you enjoy any of the tangles on the site, please do leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity for you to enjoy.

Check out the tag minah for more of Mina’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

Related Links

Linda's List of Zentangle-Original Patterns — here is the complete list of original tangles (aka "official tangles") created and introduced by founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, including those not published online. If you are new to the Zentangle Method I highly recommend learning a few of the published Zentangle classics first.

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Another great jump-starter for new tanglers is the original Official Zentangle Kit. The Kit includes all the supplies you'll need to get started properly: Sakura Micron Pens, Zentangle Tiles, pencil, sharpener, tortillion, a booklet and an instructional DVD by co-founder Maria Thomas. Click on the image for more information about the Kit and its contents.

12 comments to How to draw 3-LOOPS-6

Some great tips on this post, Linda, and a very pretty tangle. I’ve never thought of using a small eraser for tidyng up shading. I’ve got an electric one (battery driven) and a sharpen-able pencil-style eraser, and my propelling pencils have small erasers on their ends, and I use these for other types of drawing. I love the look of the Mono eraser and must see if they are available here in the UK.

I also wrap masking tape around my pens, but cut it so that the thickest pen has the full width of tape, and the finest, the narrowest strip of tape, to distinguish between them. I had not thought of writing the date on them, but that’s a very good idea! Thanks for sharing.

Good idea using varying sizes of masking tape to distinguish pen sizes, Shoshi. I pretty much just use the 01, so that’s not an issue for me.

If you’re not a colored-tape person, buying a whole roll for a pen or two isn’t on, but I’m sure many scrapbookers and art journal people have a treasure trove of colored tape handy and for them, that’s another good way to go.

I usually just use a medium sized pen for Zentangle, too, Linda, but I use my pens for mixed media and other things too, and I have a lot of different ones in a box together. The tapes make it really easy to find the one I want. Actually it was my hubby’s idea to stick on the tapes with different widths – he’s not just a pretty face lol!

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